Turkey has reportedly reinstated access to Kick after blocking the streaming platform, along with Twitch, due to gambling concerns.
According toreporter Ibrahim Haskoloğlu, Turkish officials argued that “Kick’s entry into Turkey was to attract Turkish youth to roulette.”
Both companies have come under fire in the past for allowing gambling content on their platforms, with major streamers likePokimane,Mizkifand othersdemanding change.
Kick unbanned in Turkey after gambling concerns cause shutdown
However, it looks likeKickis now alive and ‘kicking’ in Turkey after its ban mere days ago.
Asreported by Haskoloğluon February 26, “Kick’s access block has now been lifted in Turkey” — but Twitch’s ban remains in place, since the site “does not completely ban gambling content.”
Kick’s partner manager in the region, ‘Trq,’ explained the situation in a string of posts on Twitter/X, where heclaimed the platformhad “banned gambling-related publications to users in Turkey” in response to the BTK’s ban.
Moving forward, if users connect to Kick from Turkey, they will not be able to view gambling broadcasts, but will still be able to access the site’s other offerings.
🇹🇷 Kick olarak kumarla alakalı yayınları Türkiye’deki kullanıcılara yasakladık. Bundan sonra Türkiye’den Kick’e bağlandığınızda bu yayınlara ulaşamayacaksınız. Biz üstümüze düşeni yaptık. Kick’in BTK tarafından açılmasını bekliyoruz 🙏
Trq also claimed that the BTK did not initially request Kick to remove its gambling-related content, and instead blocked the site“without any warning.”
It looks like Trq took action quickly, and managed to help Kick become reinstated with his advocacy, much to the relief of Turkish streamers.
For now, Twitch remains banned in the country, following itsofficial shutdown in South Koreaover “prohibitively expensive” operating costs.
Virginia Glaze is Dexerto’s Entertainment Editor in the US. She expertly covers trending stories across Twitch, Kick, YouTube, and TikTok – as well as fighting games and influencer boxing. Virginia also has bylines at Red Bull, GINX, and Bandai Namco. Contact her here: virginia.glaze@dexerto.com
